Step into the Ring

Wednesday 30 January 2013

REVIEW CORNER: THE TOP 100 MOMENTS IN RAW HISTORY


 
















A – Excellent                                                        B – Good

C – Mediocre                                                       D – Avoid

Release Date: 4th February 2013

Available From: www.wwedvd.co.uk

Price:
DVD £19.99
Blu-ray £22.99
(prices from www.wwedvd.co.uk: high street prices will vary)

Format Reviewed: DVD (3 Discs)
(Also Available on Blu-ray – 2 Discs)

What It’s About:

The definitive 100 moments from the past twenty years of WWE Monday Night Raw, taking in the shocking, the hilarious, the emotional and the utterly outrageous, from C.M Punk’s pipe bomb, taking in The Rock concert, passing through Edge’s retirement ceremony and being invited to Stephanie McMahon’s wedding in Las Vegas...

Strengths:
(Due to the amount of material across all three discs, we’ll split them all into manageable categories with the entry numbers in brackets)

Comedy Moments:

'Are We Ready For Some Wrestling?' (94) from November 22nd 2004, raises a huge smile for Vince McMahon's terrific line to Shelton Benjamin "You do understand Shelton, you're an African American!" It also got a huge reaction from the attending audience.

‘DX impersonates the McMahons’ (93) brought many chuckles at the time thanks to Triple H and Shawn Michaels’ excellent comedy timing and surprisingly spot on impersonations of Shane and Vince McMahon. The end though in which the duo pour supposed excrement over Father, Son and the Spirit Squad brings the moment down slightly.

'The Rock's Eulogy for Stone Cold' (85) which transpired on Aprile 19th 1999 Raw, shows how gifted the Rock was on the microphone. 'The People's Champion' makes a wonderful mockery of a supposed deceased Stone Cold Steve Austin.

‘Mr. McMahon’s birthday bash with D-Generation X’ (83) is notable for Vince’s reaction to the ridicule of his age by Triple H and Shawn Michaels which is played to perfection, especially for a man who dislikes the public knowing how old he is.

Four moments involving the Rock finish off the comedy moments of the main feature. The quartet encapsulte entries (63) 'The Rock makes fun of Toronto', (26) 'The Rock's Return' and (8) 'The Rock Concert' on March 24th 2003. All three are both very good examples of how to bait an audience and his interactions with John Cena, entry 26, are very funny indeed. However it’s the concert which was designed to rile Stone Cold which is the funniest and even though it’s not in its entirety, the song ‘Sacramento’ is a scream and is included in full. The entry which makes up the quartet is ‘This is Your Life!’ (2). The angle in which Mankind presents The Rock with a trip into his past is still droll nearly 14 years later.

Shocking Moments:

‘Evolution Kicks Out Orton!’ (98) is the beginning of Randy Orton as a serious headline star and was an angle that took an unsuspecting bystander by surprise, even though it was a horribly rushed piece of television in 2004.

'Shawn Michaels Super Kicks Hulk Hogan' (89) from July 4th 2005, is a top class heel turn by Michaels, one which WWE should show all of its younger stars. The crowds reaction, coupled with the haunting blank look on Michael’s face is both priceless and genius.

‘Triple H and Shawn Michaels reunite DX’ (74) which went down on the July 22nd 2002 edition of Raw, flawlessly restored Hunter to a heel after a drab face run and was the lead in to an exceptional street fight at SummerSlam. It’s also notable here for being the beginning of Shawn Michaels’ comeback after four years on the shelf.

'C.M Punk Cashes in Money in the Bank' (73) on June 30th 2008 can be pin pointed as the moment Punk finally arrived in WWE, even though he'd been with the company for two years. Punk's comments on the matter taken from a sit down interview with the man himself are the most honest and refreshing of the whole 100 moments as Punk is the only wrestler permitted to tell the truth and not mark out. Punk says on the moment “I was sitting in the Gorilla position freaking out” and then goes on to mention the process of face and heel cashing in processes which breaks WWE Kayfabe, but gets full marks for being left in.

‘Dumpster Incident’ which WWE have ranked at (59) is a great stunt spot and was genuinely a jolt to the senses in 1998. It was also a great platform for the New Age Outlaws to build off of as one of the hottest tag teams of the Attitude Era. Billy Gunn’s comment of “You do what you got to do to get noticed’ is one WWE’s talent in 2013 should listen and take note of.

Both 'Chris Jericho Wins the WWE Championship' (54) from April 17th and 'Goldberg Debut' (51) the night after Wrestlemania 19 are worth their inclusions, even though the decision on Jericho's WWE Championship win was reversed. Just to note, it was a gripping match. Goldberg’s WWE debut brought a fresh slant on the WWE headline scene.

'Brock Lesnar Returns to Raw' (50) on April 2nd 2012, ws truly momentous and garnered one of the biggest pops of the year.

‘Mankind Attacks Jim Ross’ (46) is a deeply dark, yet satisfying angle which takes a look into Foley’s life. Jim Ross does a superior sell job.

‘WCW / ECW Alliance’ (27) was a huge, unexpected and perfectly executed moment. Had the resulting invasion not been almost a total dud then I would have been stating this should have been in the top 10 moments for what it would have meant. WWE really did drop the ball with this in 2001.

'123 Kid Upsets Razor Ramon' (20) is one of the earlier Raw moments from May 17th 1993 and is another classic moment which deserves its spot in the top 100. It was more than an underdog victory. It was the moment that Sean Waltman had made it in professional wrestling.

‘Bischoff is the New Raw GM’ (17) was one of those rare, standout moments in WWE history. Something which we never thought we’d see and one to savour for eternity. Eric Bischoff absolutely sparkled in the role.

‘Pipe Bomb’ (5) is nothing less than epic. Even though it should have been one of those moments which WWE should have included in its entirety, it still deserves its place in this list and in its top 5.

Tear Jerking / Sentimental Moments:

‘Edge’s Retirement Speech’ (81) is still an emotional moment. Even in highlight form it brings a tear to the eye and should have been ranked higher in the list for what Edge did for WWE.

'Shawn Michaels Farewell Speech' (64) from the MArch 29th 2010 Raw is the end of an era. Even HBK can't keep the tears at bay. Not only is it sentimental and sad because of what it is was, but also in a happy sense because Shawn went out on top.

‘Ric Flair’s Retirement Celebration’ (56). Even though we know now that Flair would surface in TNA, I believe he may have honoured his retirement had been able to afford it. Nonetheless, at the time, for a man who had given so much, it was a powerful piece of television.

'Bret Hart Returns to Raw' (24) on January 24th 2010, merits an inclusion in Raw history as Hart hadn't stepped foot in a WWE ring for 13 years. His reconciliation with Shawn Michaels in a lump in the throat moment.

The Matches:

'Loser Leaves Raw Ladder Match' (87) fought between Edge and Matt Hardy on October 3rd 2006 was a cracking match, made even more personal by the real life history between the duo and Amy 'Lita' Dumas.

'Marty Jannetty vs Shawn Michaels' (82) which transpired on May 17th 1993 is by a country mile, Jannetty's greatest ever match in a wrestling ring. The conclusion was an accurate portrayal of a major upset.

'Big Show's 1st Match' (77) fought between the artist formerly known as Paul Wight and Stone Cold Steve Austin on mArch 22nd 1999, subsists even today as a terrific encounter. It does however illustrate how good Big Show was in 1999 when he was carrying significantly less weight and how lazy he has grown over the years.

'An Hour in England' (76) which tore the house down on April 23rd 2007 is one of John Cena's finest moments and matches. Against Shawn Michaels on British shores, the then WWE Champion put in a hell of a shift and showed moments of great potential. Granted, Michaels carried Cena through a decent portion of the match but Cena’s contributions cannot be denied. Well paced, well fought and well received, this has to rank in the top two John Cena matches.

'Loser Leaves Town Match' (75) is one of your Wrestling God's favourite ever matches and should be much higher up the list. Ric Flair vs Mr. Perfect from January 25th 1993 was nothing short of heroic. Heralding Flair's final appearance in WWE for nine years, both men look impeccable in their execution. The match even carried on after Raw went off of the air. More than anything though, this match amongst many in Henning's career adds weight to the argument that Mr. Perfect should have been WWE Champion.

‘Bret Hart vs Stone Cold: Street Fight’ (71) isn’t actually a match of sorts but is a heated angle with a classic finish.

'Undertaker vs Jeff Hardy' (22) a treasured and memorable Ladder Match from July 1st 2002 for the WWE Undisputed Championship is first class in ever conceivable area. Undertaker's nod of approval for Hardy who refused to stay down is a touching and rewarding moment.

Sadly each of the above gets less than two minutes to show how great they truly are. WWE should have made the effort to include each of these matches in their entirety.

Iconic Moments:

‘Triple H Takes Over D-Generation X’ (80). Notable for the beginning of Triple H as we know him now. This was a very important moment in both Raw and WWE as Triple H didn’t have Shawn Michaels to follow or fall back on. He had to go it alone as the leader. This does feature a killer promo from X Pac on the night and it’s also good to hear from a 2012 X Pac as a talking head on this moment. Though the years haven’t been kind.

'Cemented Corvette' (66) comes to us from October 12th 1998 and the height of the Austin vs McMahon feud. In 2013 the moment is still one of the best.

‘Greater Power Revealed’ (61) and ‘Intercontinental Championship Over a Bridge’ (60) helped either further the feud between Austin and McMahon or enhanced Austin as a rebellious blue collar worker who was fighting against the regime. The first features a great promo from McMahon and the latter illuminates how stunning Austin was verbally when WWE allowed him to go off on a tangent.

'Formation of Evolution' (49) is of consequence as it was the beginning of Randy Orton and Batista as serious wrestlers. Both men had been saddled with either dowdy or comedy characters before February 3rd 2003.

‘Bret Hart shoves Vince McMahon’ (44) signals the genesis of problems both in front and behind the camera and would inevitably lead to Bret Hart’s exit at Survivor Series 1997 and sew the seeds for the dastardly Mr. McMahon character.

‘Jeff Hardy’s Swanton Off of Titan Tron’ (42) is curiously placed in the running ordered but breathtaking nevertheless.

‘Stone Cold Drives Zamboni’ (41) is special. Austin’s comments to Vince as ‘the Rattlesnake’ was being escorted away by guards “I’m not through with you yet Vince. I’m not through with you yet not by a long shot!” made sure fans knew that the war between the two which would be the saviour of WWE, wasn’t over.

'Mike Tyson joins DX' (39) and 'DX Forms' (36) are mutually important and vital moments from WWE past. Individually they were very important in the Monday Night Wars. Although Triple H's comments that Mike Tyson was the spark that lit the Attitude Era are somewhat misplaced.

‘Bret Screwed Bret’ (37) may have been a moment that long time fans may have wished to see left off of the main body as we’ve had about a gut full of the events of Survivor Series 1997. There’s no denying though that it does deserve its place here. It was the first time we’d seen Vince break Kayfabe and it was the creation of the Mr. McMahon character which is somehow unthinkable that WWE could have done without. This has to be one of the most famous moments in Raw history. Vince Russo’s comments that Bret left McMahon with no other choice are sheer farce. There was a ton of other choices.

A trio of groundbreaking moments round out the 30’s. ‘The Rock Challenges Hulk Hogan’ (32) is something we’d been waiting for, for years and was ably handled by the pair and a decade later is still a pleasure to watch. As is ‘Stone Cold stuns Mr. McMahon’ (31) which laid the foundations of the Austin / McMahon feud. ‘DX invades the Norfolk Scope’ (30) was a landmark time for WWE as it took the initiative in the Monday Night Wars and took the fight, literally, to WCW. Never before in the modern era of wrestling, had wrestling promotions, without knowledge of what was going to happen, been invaded by their rivals. DX displayed an aptness here.

‘Debut of Monday Night Raw’ (29) will forever be a cherished memory.

‘Bedpan McMahon’ (25) whilst amusing is much more than a comedy skit when you look at what followed in WWE. It’s here that Vince McMahon shows why he may be one of WWE’s most underrated performers.

Equally ‘Triple H Returns to Raw’ (23) and ‘Batista Turns On Evolution’ (19) are powerful moments in their own right. Triple H had been gone from WWE for nine months and WWE handled the Batista face turn with aplomb. The crowd popped big when Batista gave Triple H the same thumbs down Triple H had given Randy Orton in 2004, expelling him from the group.

'Mick Foley Wins the WWE Championship' (18) on January 4th 1999, is a moment a grown man finally realised his dream. It's shocking how emotional a sight like that is. Foley deserved the victory over the Rock for all of his excellent performances and sacrifices for the company. It was also the moment that turned the Monday Night War on its head forever. WCW gave away the result live on Nitro and 600,000 people turned to channel to see Foley raise the gold. They never turned back.

‘Shawn Michaels loses his smile’ (16) from February 13th 1997 ushers in another historic moment.

'Pillman's Got a Gun' (13) was a well acted angle, one which pushed the boundaries for the time. Austin and Pillman were sublime.

‘Vegas Wedding’ (12) may not be a natural strength of a DVD, when you consider Triple H supposedly drugged his now real life wife and married her in a cheesy Vegas ceremony, before she could marry Test (in the storyline). Take into account though that it grew into the most important time in WWE after the Attitude Era, namely the ‘McMahon-Helmsley Era’ and you see why it has to be included as one of the most definitive moments of Raw and WWE.

The remainder of the top 10 here is made up of 'Raw / Nitro Simulcast' (9), a sad moment in time, being the final ever WCW show; 'Tyson vs Austin' (4) featuring a red hot pull apart brawl; 'Millenium Man' (3) is the WWE debut of Chris Jericho featuring a legendary exchange of words with the Rock and possible the most definitive and famous moment of Monday Night Raw ever 'Beer Bath' (1)

Happily there is minimal blurring of the old WWF sign which has hampered past releases and served as a distraction.

Of the extras, only one of the 6 bonus Raw moments are worth viewing, ‘Rocky Waters’, and as you’ll read below should have been included in the main countdown. However WWE did see sense and include a making of the Raw 1,000 Episode which takes a rare look behind the scenes and even at only 5 minutes long, it’s a treat to see WWE personnel out of the ring. It would have been nice if this were 25 minutes longer.

Raw’s 1,000 Episode, included in its entirety, is a rip roaring trip down memory lane. None of the angles or matches last too long thanks to the amount of old talent booked on the card. Worth all of the two and a half hours of disc space it occupies.

Weaknesses:

The Celebrity Moments:

Sadly with WWE, where there’s an abundance of good, the bad is never usually far behind. We begin with the tiresome celebrity moments which do not belong in this list and it’s a disservice that so many of them take the places of actually wrestling moments.

'Sheamus Puts Mark Cuban Through a Table' (95) is a pointless moment as is 'Seth Green is the First Celebrity Host' (91) from July 13th 2009 Raw. Neither entry has a baring on Raw's history and both men left no impact.

Entry (79) ‘Hugh Jackman Punches Dolph Ziggler’ only serves as a determent to Dolph and his status in WWE. Hugh Jackman was a total ‘mark’ all through this show.

‘Bob Barker Hosts Raw’ (62) was maybe the dullest of celebrity hosts. Barker played a seemingly never ending game of ‘The Price is Right’ with WWE Superstars and then did nothing else all night with the exception of a tussle with Chavo Guerrero. Barker’s comments on the angle make the inclusion even more ludicrous when he says “As for Chavo Guerrero, I’ll give Chavo a rematch on the 2,000 Episode!” Before interviewing Barker, WWE should have either told him Chavo now works for TNA or cut this entry entirely.

Unbelievably ‘John Cena vs Kevin Federline’ (52) is ranked higher than Edge, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair’s farewell moments and John Cena’s match with Shawn Michaels in England. Utterly pathetic and just goes to show you how much WWE value celebrity moments over that thing they promote called wrestling.

Sadly the celebrity inclusions don’t end there. ‘Shaq Attacks Big Show’ (47) is a spot that not only could have been given elsewhere but both men in this angle were truly dismal.

Each of these moments feel like they were only included so WWE could say to us, the entertainment industry and most of all its rival wrestling companies “Look at the calibre of celebrities we can attract.”

The Distasteful Moments:

'Snitsky Punts Lita's Baby' (90) was a ghastly and repellent angle from the November 8th Raw, when after being accused of causing Lita's storyline miscarriage, WWE had Snitsky punt a baby doll into the crowd and proclaim it was Lita's. WWE reached new lows with this.

‘Choppy Choppy Pee Pee’ (40) is unbelievably included and ranked higher thank all the great matches mentioned in the ‘Strengths’ category. Having Kaientai attempting to cut off Val Venis’ penis was just a soul destroying thing to sit through.

‘Live Sex Celebration’ (34) should have been omitted considering how many lives the actually affair between Adam Copeland and Amy Dumas destroyed behind the scenes. It exists only to acquire heat for Edge.

‘Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night’ (14) is yet another entry that should have gone astray from this compilation. It was brilliantly unsettling as McMahon supposedly walked to his own execution unknowingly with the entire WWE locker room lining the backstage and was going to result in ‘Who Killed Vince McMahon’ storyline which was meant to be Vince’s final appearance on WWE television. However knowing now that the whole storyline takes place just weeks before Chris Benoit, Nancy Benoit and Daniel Benoit’s deaths WWE should have shown a modicum of decorum and put something else in its place. Knowing what came in reality weeks later, makes this entry a very hard watch.

The Comments:

Each moment in the countdown is commented on by another wrestler or person involved in the angle and or quite often by those who had no bearing on it. Almost every one of these comments are absolutely ridiculous and quite obviously scripted for them by WWE. 99% have nothing relevant to say or anything new to add to the moment in question. What makes it worse still; is that the wrestlers are speaking in character and not permitted to give their real thoughts on each moment. They also talk about each moment as if it’s real and not a work. After WWE did so well in allowing C.M Punk to tell the no holds barred truth on his DVD, it makes no sense whatsoever not to allow everyone to do so.

Those that aren’t scripted by WWE are taken from old footage. I won’t reel off all of the irrelevant comments but some of the very worst start off with Kofi Kingston talking about the Wrestlemania 14 challenge between Undertaker and Kane (97). Kingston marks out big time stating that Kane lit the Undertaker’s casket on fire at Royal Rumble 1998 and that’s what it took for Undertaker to lift a hand to his younger brother.

Sickeningly Jerry Lawler, who has many deplorable moments as a talking head on this release says of the Snitsky punting Lita’s baby angle, “It was one of the funniest moments ever in the history of Raw, at least for me!” Of the moment ‘Sable Wears a Potato Sack’ (15) which is preposterously ranked so high when it should have been excluded as it doesn’t warrant an inclusion in the greatest ever moments of Raw, Lawler chimes in with the comment that this was “One of my greatest moments!” Not finished there, on the moment of Goldust giving mouth to mouth to Ahmed Johnson and Johnson’s furious reaction from 1996 Lawler declares this “One of the greatest moments...” and “One of the craziest sights I’ve ever seen on Monday Night Raw!” Out of everything Lawler has sat through he deems this the craziest? Maddening. On more than one occasion Lawler labels a moment “The Greatest Moment”. Maybe WWE should have told him there can only be one.

WWE should have axed talking heads Matt Striker and Vince Russo as they often are the biggest source of annoyance and make you want to press mute when they appear. Both men come out with some truly laughable stuff.

Hugh Jackman's audio bite hilariously claims that he had no idea he was going to get involved in the Zack Ryder vs Dolph Ziggler match on the September 19th 2011 Raw. Another nonsensical comment seeing as every wrestler, backstage crew member, guest and quite often the audience knows what's going to happen. Jackman isn't the only one though; too many WWE Superstars claim that they had no idea what was going to happen moments before their so called ‘moment’. Anyone who has even a basic knowledge of how wrestling works will be able to pick these comments to pieces.

WWE do not allow Brock Lesnar sufficient time to explain why he left WWE in 2004. Instead the rushed interview which clocks in at less than thirty seconds, over Lesnar’s reappearance in WWE in 2012, has Lesnar mention that he wanted more. This would have been greatly improved had WWE allowed Lesnar to explain the real reason why he left WWE, which was for a career in NFL. When that didn’t work he went to UFC.

Other talking head lowlights include Alex Riley, remember him? Describing the ‘Are We Ready For Some Wrestling’ Moment (94) as “One of the Greatest Moments of Raw, for me!”; Steve Lombardi joining the marking out crew when commenting on the Ric Flair vs Mr. Prefect match, although WWE do not permit Lombardi mentioning why Flair left WWE in 1993, because he had agreed to rejoin WCW. Again the truth wouldn’t have done anyone any harm and added some knowledge to the moment for those who never watched it live.

What could have been a strong part of the main feature ends up being something you constantly want to punch those who are talking in the face. Had WWE allowed more time for each moment and not insisted each talker do so in character then it could have been really special. As it is, WWE should have left off the talking heads and allowed the moments to play out on their own.

Those That Should Have Been Excluded:

Entries 100 – 90 are mostly a waste of time permitting the odd few. ‘Silent Stare’ (100) in which Undertaker and Triple H stare down each other in preparation for their Wrestlemania 27 match is certainly not one of the greatest by any means. ‘Tea Time With Santino’ (99) is an absolute joke. WWE may have felt they needed to include this for the comedy element however the DVD could have benefited had it gone missing. The same goes for 'Mouth to Mouth' (96) and extraneous shot of Goldust giving Ahmed Johnson mout to mouth. Rounding off the 100 - 90 moments we have 'Tuxedo Match' (92) from January 9th 1995 Raw gives us an unforgettable sight of Howard Finkel and Harvey Whippleman ripping each other's clothes off. That will be burnt on out retinas until the day we die. Anyone who thinks this belongs in the 100 Greatest Moments of Raw does not know what they are talking about.

‘Musical Chairs’ (78) is fun for a very limited time and then drags horrendously to its conclusion. Notable only for Ric Flair’s interactions and dirty old man routine with Stacey Kiebler. Absurdly this gets more coverage than some that deserved to.

'Stephanie Announces Her Pregnancy' (72) combines two moments, that od its namesake from February 11th 2002 and of course the moment where Triple H finds out she's lying and jilts her at the altar. The latter may validate an inclusion as it was the demise of the 'McMahon Helmsley' partnership on screen. Triple H and Stephanie kept WWE on fire between 2000 and 2001 when the Attitude Era began to die down.

‘Hornswoggle is Mr. McMahons Son’ (68) needs to be locked in a vault and sent to the bottom of an ocean. The culmination of this story was one of the biggest let downs in Raw history. The spot could have gone to an up and coming wrestler who would have greatly benefited from the association. Instead they give it to Hornswoggle.

‘Rock vs Cena – One Year Away’ (45) should have been better. Instead of all the talking, the Rock should have simply hit Cena with a Rock Bottom and then stood over him and said “I’ll see you at Wrestlemania 28!” That would have been much more intense.

WWE have done a great amount to protect Ryback from his past as Skip Sheffield and the Goldberg comparisons. Yet the entry where Nexus invade WWE clearly shows Ryback as Sheffield. WWE should have cut his face shot from this.

‘DX Mocks the Nation’ (7) and ‘Number 1 Draft Pick’ (6) are both important times and do warrant a place, just not the one they have. Both picks should have been pushed back to the 30’s or 40’s.

The main feature ends prematurely and could have used a short wrap up review with the final word coming from Vince McMahon himself on how important Raw has been for WWE.

As for the extras, 5 of the 6 bonus Raw moments are a real let down. These include ‘WCW on Raw’, ‘One Man Band’ in which Heath Slater has the gall to say he’s one of the greatest moments on Raw and then with no hint of irony say “Look at what I’ve accomplished! There isn’t a wrestler past or present who can compete with the One Man Band!” In actual fact, Slater has accomplished nothing. ‘Shawn Michaels mocks Montreal’ doesn’t have even half of the impact or interest as when the Rock did so on the main feature. ‘Piven Hosts Raw’ yet another celebrity moment and ‘Sheamus wins King of the Ring’. All should have given way to full length matches of the better entries.

Those that have not been mentioned are either good or not worth mentioning.

The Moments That Should Have Been Included:

There are so many moments nestled in the 100 that should never have made the cut. Instead WWE should have included some of the more important moments which they neglected to incorporate. These include Bret Hart vs the 123 Kid (Raw 1994); Shawn Michaels collapsing in the middle of the ring after an Owen Hart inzaguri kick (Raw 1995); Paul Heyman coming to Raw when ECW hadn’t completely fallen (2001); Triple H’s WWE Championship victory over Big Show (1999); Formation of Stone Cold and Triple H tag team the night after Wrestlemania 17; Randy Orton punting Vince in the head (2009); Stone Cold hitting the Stunner on the entire McMahon Family (Raw Homecoming); The First WWE Draft (the entire thing); Sabu diving from the RAW sign (1995); The Rock’s thrilling put down of Booker T and Shane McMahon during the Invasion months (2001); Eric Bischoff being fired (2005); Shawn Michaels parody of Hulk Hogan (2005); DX’s jibes at Sgt. Slaughter because of his chin and wearing protection visors to the ring (1997); DX’s mockery of an election speech where they swore and cursed through the whole thing (WWE could have edited out the language); British Bulldog vs Owen Hart in the European Championship Match Final (1997); The Owen Hart and Eddie Guerrero tribute Raw’s (1999 and 2005); ECW invasion of WWE (1996); Bobby Heenan’s poignant Raw exit (1993); Triple H blowing his quad and still completing the match (2001); Undertaker rousing “There’s no shame in going out, fighting and getting your ass kicked; but there’s no pride, no honour in not fighting at all!” speech to the WWE locker room during the invasion angle (2001).

Each and every one of these would have made the release much better had they been included in the place of those in the ‘Weakness’ category.

DVD and Blu-ray Special Features:

The entire 3 hour, Raw 1,000th episode.

The Making of Raw 1,000.

6 Bonus Raw Moments.

Blu-ray Exclusives:

90 Minute Legend Roundtable Discussion of Raw’s illustrious history: featuring Jim Ross, Road Dogg and more.

Conclusion:

The constant inclusion of so many unworthy moments is a let down especially when WWE have an extensive back catalogue of everything that ever transpired on Monday Night Raw. The DVD picks up the pace and quality on Disc 2 and it’s ten times better than Disc 1 which is almost entirely forgettable for the amount of trash WWE have decided to include on it.

The moments are very brief and none are seen in their entirety which is disappointing and makes it difficult to really engage in them. By the time you reach the end of the countdown you get the feeling that had WWE lengthened those which have earned their standing then it may have been a lot better. The first DVD runs at one hour and forty one minutes which means WWE had at least another one hour and nineteen minutes to extend the best parts. It just never bothered. Disc 2 has at least another hour after the 100 Moments have finished, another opportunity for the lacklustre who complied this to give us more material.

Saved by Discs 2 and 3, this should have been renamed from ‘The Top 100 Moments of Raw History’ to simply ‘A 100 Moments of Raw’, that way WWE couldn’t have been pinned to the wall by the ‘Top’ tag and we’d have no reason to complain about some of the truly horrendous choices on display.

This release does have some genuinely great moments on the main body and the extras are of the highest degree. The Top 5 moments all deserve their places on this release and it’s a blessing that WWE neglected to include the widely disgusted ‘Katie Vick’ angle. When it’s bad it’s awful, when it’s good it’s fantastic. Had the entire release been the standard of DVD 1 then WWE would have had a real flop on their hands, however if you can stomach sitting through some of the worst moments ever on Raw and some of the lamest, infuriating comments from those who should know better then this is worth the money.

Rating: B

Onwards and upwards




Monday 28 January 2013

ROYAL RUMBLE 2013 - THE FALLEN CHAMPION

WWE Royal Rumble 2013 will now live in history thanks to the WWE Championship Match and the end of an epic WWE Championship reign. After several uneventful years at WWE’s second biggest pay per view of the year, 2013 quite literally rocked the trend even if it was a fairly predictable night.

From the U.S Airways Centre in Phoenix, Arizona, this way the WWE Royal Rumble 2013.

30 Man Royal Rumble Match
John Cena Wins

Well the first word I can use to describe this match is, predictable. After so much hype and build up it was almost a formality that John Cena was going walk away with his hand raised high and a spot booked in the main event, again, of Wrestlemania 29. It was almost as if WWE were telling us there was no need to what this year’s event because they’d already sign posted the winner weeks ago.

However the Royal Rumble Match itself wasn’t the greatest ever but it was respectable, certainly more so than some we’ve seen in recent years and hey folks, Chris Jericho is back in WWE full time and we saw the Godfather and Goldust. Okay the latter two aren’t such a great sight in 2013 but it was a small pop for a small memory right? Entering Ziggler in the number one spot was almost a touch of genius for WWE, had he not been eliminated by Sheamus in the final four. Had WWE allowed Dolph Ziggler to win the Royal Rumble Match then it would have created such a buzz in WWE, seeing as Ziggler said he’d unify the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships at Wrestlemania 29, WWE would have been guaranteed two things. A huge draw for Wrestlemania 29, which they’ll more than likely get seeing as who the main event will once again be and the second is a brand new, fully formed headline star. Ziggler’s burial continues yet again when it could have been so easily remedied.

If I was to ask the question of who is looking forward to the prospect of The Rock vs John Cena for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 29, I would have thought the only hands to go up would be those wearing Cena’s merchandise. Because let’s be honest now, with the Rock leaving WWE again after Wrestlemania 29, there’s only going to be one outcome in that match. John Cena’s so called ‘bad year’ started with a defeat to the Rock and will end with a victory over him one year later. Unless WWE go in the opposite direction and have Cena choose Del Rio to wrestle at Wrestlemania 29. Theoretically this would be the most sensible thing to do, then when Cena defeats Del Rio, WWE can have Ziggler cash in Money in the Bank and take the gold from Cena moments after he wins it.

However as it stands, John Cena will most likely choose the Rock at Wrestlemania 29 which means yet another repeat of last year’s forgettable encounter. Should WWE go with this match yet again, then it will have shown itself up as nothing but a den of liars, for the ‘Once in a Lifetime’ slogan that sold the Rock vs Cena last year and drew so many viewers will be effectively redundant and the whole world will see that WWE are a bunch of liars. Still, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. As I write this it’s the morning after the night before and Raw is still to take place, bare that in mind when you read the rest of this blog. So for all I know writing this, Cena could have already chosen Del Rio which leaves the Rock to defend against Punk again.

It’s somewhat disappointing that WWE didn’t have the gall or imagination to come up with another ending for the match. Cena was going to be in the main event of Wrestlemania 29 whatever happened, leaving the way clear for WWE to do something which signalled their intent with Dolph Ziggler. This match was the perfect opportunity for WWE to push Dolph hard and really show us that he’s the man they’re backing in the future. After several humiliating defeats to Cena on Raw and his elimination here, the future looks deplete for Dolph Ziggler. What a way to treat your future World Heavyweight Champion. The funny thing is that WWE will expect us to buy into Ziggler somewhere down the line and will put the blame on us when we don’t. How about instead of concentrating on the man who is ruining the wrestling reputation of the business, WWE actually forget about their bank balance and do something to build the future of their company.

If anything, the 2013 Royal Rumble Match went to prove how much WWE care about one man and how little they care about those who will be left to carry the ball when a certain person is long gone.


WWE Championship Match
The Rock defeated (c) C.M Punk

Before we get into the match or the result I would just like to take the opportunity to thank C.M Punk for what was an epic reign even when uneventful at times. It’s because of Punk that the Royal Rumble drew the number it did on pay per view and it’s because of Punk that the WWE Championship now means a whole lot more than it did when he defeated Alberto Del Rio for it at Survivor Series 2011.

Four hundred and thirty four days as Champion has put C.M Punk amongst WWE’s elite. It doesn’t matter what WWE do to him now. They could bury him under a heap of Cena and Ryback. He could lose every match from now until the end of the year and it will not matter. Because C.M Punk has been and will always be one of the very best WWE Champions there has ever been. And if didn’t give him a standing ovation at the end of the match for everything he’s done while the strap has been around his waist then where is your heart and respect?

We all knew that the WWE Championship had to change hands at some point during the year and as much as I love the Rock and will always, unashamedly, be a mark for him, the result on the night was wrong. C.M Punk should have retained the WWE Championship and then gone on to have the reign end on the grandest stage of them all. Such an illustrious Championship reign deserved to end only at Wrestlemania. Yes, to someone as big as the Rock, certainly, but not at the Royal Rumble. Which is disappointing when you consider how little Vince and company must value Punk even after everything ‘The Straight Edge Saviour’ has done to keep business up in 2012.

I, like every other Rock fan, would have preferred to see ‘The Brahma Bull’ lose to Punk than to Cena at Wrestlemania. We still have three months until the two will supposedly clash once again in the main event and I can see the smug look on Cena’s face already and can just imagine the smarmy, self appreciating promo that will follow the next night on Raw. One of the many reasons I may not tune into that edition. Cena infuriates me enough now, without having to sit through that grin when he defeats the Rock in April.

The match itself was as good as we expected, at least for me it was and the Rock looked a lot leaner and more in shape than he did at Wrestlemania 28. More like the Rock we used to know. The final few minutes of the match were more exciting than anything C.M Punk has been able to do with Cena or Ryback in November and December. As the lights went out and then came back up with the Rock laying through a broken announce table, it did beg the question who was the Rock’s assailant? Most thought the Shield, as did Vince McMahon who marched to the stage and was ready to strip the Champion for the Shield’s involvement. The Rock came across as a warrior in this match when he took the mic and told Vince to restart the match citing; “You don’t take it from him! I am! Restart the match now!” Sensibly in wrestling, only a true hero and babyface would do something like that knowing that he could just have the gold handed to him. Only a real fighter would want to win it the right way. Something WWE will do everything they can to promote in the run up to ‘Mania.

C.M Punk though will have a rematch, and seeing as Punk, Rock and Cena are on the poster for Elimination Chamber, one has to imagine it will be on February’s pay per view event. However, I have another plan for WWE to save them promoting the same main event at Wrestlemania as last year. And yes Vince, it’s yours for free if you spare us another Rock vs Cena outing. Okay. During the run up to the Rock vs Punk rematch – should it go ahead at Elimination Chamber – John Cena, being the glory hog that he is, interjects himself into the match and forfeits the main event at Wrestlemania 29 in order to be placed into the WWE Championship Match at Elimination Chamber. A Triple Threat Match at Elimination Chamber would be miles better than another singles match between Rock and Cena at Wrestlemania.

After Rock pins Cena at Elimination Chamber, Cena would have no claim to the WWE Championship or the Wrestlemania Main Event, leaving either Punk and Rock to go at it a third time or for the Rock to defend against someone else on the grand stage such as Brock Lesnar if the former ‘Next Big Thing’ doesn’t face Triple H. Cena could then blame Punk for the loss at Elimination Chamber setting up a non title singles match between them at ‘Mania, seeing as Punk has stated he wants to wrestle Cena at a Wrestlemania. The reason I mention Brock Lesnar is because he’s just signed a two year extension on his contract which means he’s going to be around for a good long while yet. The sensible step would be for the Rock to drop the belt to Brock Lesnar and as he did in 2002, leave the main event scene in a much stronger position than when he found it.

The Cena vs Punk match could be made for the second time into a triple threat involving Triple H, the winner challenging the Champion at either Extreme Rules or a designated point in the future. Triple H would win that match and challenge Lesnar for the gold at Extreme Rules or later down the line. This would be a very good idea for WWE to implement because traditionally the Wrestlemania hang over period is a low point in WWE with no stars to bring in the viewers. After Triple H and Brock Lesnar settle their score over the WWE Championship, WWE could and would then have to reintroduce Cena into the WWE Championship picture because they’re not going to keep him away from the gold for another year. All this would save the next few months and Wrestlemania 29 from becoming predictable and garner interest in the Wrestlemania fall out period.

Now I’ll take a breath. Okay, I’m ready again. If WWE don’t want to a perfectly good solution and put it into their product then I have one more, highly unlikely, choice for WWE to consider. Playing on the whole ‘Who Attacked Rock At Royal Rumble’ scenario, WWE could begin to turn the screw towards Cena and say that Cena was the one who attacked the Rock when the lights went down because he couldn’t stand the thought of Rocky being Champion when he wasn’t. It would be a feasible excuse to give Cena and perfect way to turn him heel at last. The only problem WWE face is that a photograph is now circulating which was taken during the blackout. Someone’s camera flash caught Dean Ambrose and what looked like the Shield, out of shot, attacking the Rock. Imagine how much more embarrassing it would have been if they’d have caught the Rock walking of his own free will to the table and jumping through it.

This though is easily gotten around again. WWE could have the Shield say that they were receiving orders from their ‘Real Leader’ and then WWE could create a storyline of who is the mastermind behind the Shield, with it being apparent it wouldn’t be C.M Punk. The answer of course would be John Cena and in an angle reminiscent of ‘The Higher Power’ in WWE’s Attitude Era, John Cena could unveil his involvement and master plan. This would be sheer dynamite and if WWE go through with the Rock vs Cena at Wrestlemania 29, we would rather see a scheming heel Cena defeat the Rock than a smirking, smarmy one.

At Royal Rumble the Rock made history. Ending one of the longest WWE Championship reigns of the modern era. C.M Punk may be feeling annoyed an aggravated that he had to drop the Championship to a man he feels has just walked back into the company and stole his spot, but in reality Punk has nothing to be ashamed of. There’s no shame in losing to the Rock and quite simply, C.M Punk has been an absolute star.


World Heavyweight Championship Match
Last Man Standing Match
(c) Alberto Del Rio defeated Big Show

I don’t know what’s happened to the Big Show lately. For years he’s been a lazy, fat, waste of space who has been hogging the spotlight of younger guys who could have done a lot more than Show. In fact I distinctly remember calling Big Show the world largest doorstop. His matches were plodding. His demeanour was that of someone who couldn’t give a damn and the weight he was carrying, for a man of his considerable height was nothing short of disgusting. However it’s like Big Show woke up one morning and suddenly decided to return to his 1999 form. The man has been very good indeed, despite what I may have said about him in the latter stages of 2012.

Everything changed at Hell in a Cell during that cracking match with Sheamus in which Show became World Heavyweight Champion. His Survivor Series and TLC performance whilst it didn’t overshadow his Hell in a Cell performance and exploited the laziness that ruined him in the last decade which had started to creep back in, weren’t his worst by far. Then Big Show dropped the World Heavyweight Championship to Alberto Del Rio in a blinding match on Smackdown and again at Royal Rumble impressed greatly.

If Paul Wight can keep up this level of performance then he has to be in line for ‘Most Improved Wrestler of the Year’ in the 2013 categories. The question is, where do WWE take him from here? The rumour mill that churned out Big Show’s involvement with Ryback leading up to Wrestlemania 29 may have been wrong as WWE like to leak false plans in order to shock with their real ones, which suggest Big Show could have a bigger role on the grandest stage. It’s almost certain that he’ll be in the Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship at February’s pay per view of the same name or failing that he’ll once again challenge Del Rio on the night for the gold he dropped to him before Royal Rumble.

The one thing that has to be added, should WWE actually be planning a Big Show vs Ryback feud for Wrestlemania is that I would think about it very carefully. Ryback is a limited worker, so limited in fact that he’s going to need someone of great experience to carry him through the match. We can’t take Big Show’s great run of late too seriously judging on his past performances, we know how easy it will be for him to slack off once again and revert to type. Could a Big Show who has only impressed in the last few months really carry a man who gives away the impression he has very little idea what he’s doing in the ring? A question WWE will need to answer if they’re serious about both men going toe to toe in April.

Alberto Del Rio however is in a kind of limbo. After Big Show, who else is there for the aristocratic Mexican to defend against on pay per view? A now supposed face, Del Rio can’t go again against Sheamus, we never need to see the two of them fight ever again. It looks increasingly like Randy Orton will challenge ‘The Celtic Warrior’ after his imminent heel turn, leaving Del Rio without anyone to play with. The obvious answer is Dolph Ziggler or John Cena should WWE swap him to the blue brand in time, which again, is highly unlikely.

It’s times like these where WWE realise they’ve booked themselves into a corner. It’s also times like these when Vince McMahon realises how much he’s failed when it comes to building new stars in order to step up when there is no one else to do so. Whoever WWE handpick for Del Rio at Wrestlemania 29 it’s going to have to be very big if its to make an impact, which means planning and forethought from the creative team. We won’t be holding our hopes out there then.

Putting where WWE are taking Del Rio aside for a moment, I’m not too sure WWE know how to book him. Since TLC and his sudden and unexplained face turn, Del Rio has done a reasonable impression of someone the fans can get behind and trust. His emotional response to defeating Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship added weight to this fact as has the way Del Rio has carried himself in the ring since. However at Riyal Rumble that all changed. Despite the fact this was a Last Man Standing Match – another last minute stipulation added too late to make an impact – Del Rio fought and won the match like a complete heel.

In John Cena fashion and in an ending rehashed from John Cena’s Last Man Standing Match with Batista at Extreme Rules 2010, Alberto Del Rio applied the cross arm breaker on Big Show allowing Ricardo Rodriguez to tape Show’s feet to the bottom rope so he couldn’t answer the referee’s ten count. That my minions isn’t the way a face should be winning a match. It was dumb when WWE had John Cena do it, it’s even more incomprehensible now, with a guy they’re trying to pass of as WWE’s latest hop for top line face. Even worse, good guy Del Rio had to have outside interference to help him defeat Big Show. It’s booking decision like this which repeatedly fail to get guys over.

Instead of having Del Rio and Rodriguez effectively cheat, regardless of the rules that they were allowed to, wouldn’t it have been much better for Big Show to have lost the match off of his own back? Say, Big Show stole Del Rio’s car and tried to run him down on the aisle or backstage, Del Rio leaped out of the way and Big Show ploughed the car into the wall, knocking himself out and rendering himself unable to reach the ten count. That would have been a better ending and one which painted Del Rio in a much better light than the ending we were fed.

There is a great deal of mileage in Alberto Del Rio as World Heavyweight Champion. If he loses Ricardo in the manner Brock Lesnar lost Paul Heyman to Big Show at the superb Survivor Series 2002 it would create more avenues for Del Rio to walk down as Champion before his reign became stale. WWE need to have Del Rio shed Rodriguez and step out on his own. Because if they mess this one up, they deserve everything they get.


WWE Tag Team Championship Match
(c) Team Hell No defeated Team Rhodes Scholars

Another predictable encounter in which the result was well sign posted before the event went on the air. Team Rhodes Scholars constant burial and losses in tag team and singles competition to Team Hell No before Royal Rumble were so demoralising that had Rhodes and Sandow taken the tag team gold from Kane and Daniel Bryan it would not only have been unbelievable but also yanked the doubles titles down several levels.

It beats me why WWE push teams like this in already bare division. If anything it shows that their priorities do not fall in the tag team division. Amazingly, Vince is well aware of the problems in the division just as he’s aware of the problems in the Divas Division, yet he’s made no great leaps or strides to change anything. Anything would have done here to make Team Rhodes Scholars look like they could walk away with the Championships. A few victories or brutal beat downs of Kane and Bryan in Raw and Smackdown would have sufficed. Anything to make the pair look stringer than they currently do.

Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow were given a glimpse of light at TLC when they defeated Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara in a tag team tables match to book their place at Royal Rumble. In December, against Mysterio and Sin Cara, Team Rhodes Scholars looked great. They came a cross as a team capable of stripping Kane and Bryan of the gold. Since then, as is usually in WWE, the pair have been neglected and WWE have all but lost complete interest in them. It’s worrying that the company have done so because now Team Hell No and the WWE Tag Team Championships will suffer greatly.

Without Team Rhodes Scholars there isn’t another tag team in place to challenge Kane and Daniel Bryan. Every other tag team are so weak and inconsequential that it would actually do the tag team gold more harm than good to put them in the frame. That’s where WWE has dragged a once thriving division down to. Had this kind of treatment been rife in the late 90’s you can bet your house that teams such as APA and New Age Outlaws wouldn’t have been as big as they were. WWE had the drive and formula back then to do something with their doubles division, and with a lot more going on around them than there is now, so why can’t they do it today?

Team Hell No have all but run out of steam. Their anger management lessons are over and the comedy has visibly drained away. Where have all the great lines and bickering gone? Like a storm brewing on the horizon, all the colour has drained with haste from the duo. The WWE Tag Team Championship division is beginning to slip back into old habits and that can only mean disaster for everyone involved. What it needs is some big and serious challengers. WWE needs to take two men from the headline scene who aren’t doing anything and drop them into the Number One Contender’s spot fast. If headline stars are seen to want the Tag Team Championships then interest in them may pick up again.

The above would also give WWE ample time to once again rebuild Team Rhodes Scholars as a team not to be messed with. A few huge victories over other teams and teams made from headline stars who have only joined forces for the sole reason to put Team Rhodes Scholars over would do the trick, as would putting a block on any talent mocking them and laying waste to them like they were jobbers.

We can sit here and say all of this. We can throw a hundred solutions at WWE, a hundred better ideas than they currently have as to how to rejuvenate their tag team division, in the end though if Vince and the creative fail to act then we’re wasting our breath. Why should we carry on putting forth ideas just to be ignored and why should we put in the effort when none has been forthcoming from elsewhere? Is it our problem if the Tag Team division fails? No! Are we the ones who will lose money and viewers because of it? No! If WWE want to allow one of their former, finest, division to rot then there’s only one person that decision is going to effect. Isn’t that right Vince?


Pre-Show
WWE United States Championship Match
(c) Antonio Cesaro defeated The Miz

The fourth and final predictable match of the evening came to us on You Tube. There was no real way the Miz was going to leave Arizona with gold around his waist because like so many other talent, WWE have lost interest in him. One of the finest prospects on this decade and WWE have all but brushed him to the curb.

This is just a thought. Wouldn’t WWE be wiser to broadcast the pointless pre-sow matches on their own website? Wouldn’t that generate more visitors and more of those stats WWE seem to love in 2013?

How far does the Miz have to fall in WWE before they either put him out of his misery or push him harder than they ever have before? For a wrestler who the company publically announced would be destined for greater things in 2013, the Miz has remarkably been given nothing to do so far. The same goes for Antonio Cesaro. The former Ring of Honor star was destined for big things in WWE, he was Vince’s golden boy, beloved in the office so much they couldn’t do enough to please him. Why then has Cesaro advanced no further since his United States Championship victory on the pre show of SummerSlam? For two men WWE claim have bright futures in the company, they seem to have their minds set on doing as much harm to both men as humanly possible.

I don’t have that much to say about this match because it won’t be the last time we see it. The Miz and Cesaro are slated to feud over the United States Championship well into the year. Hopefully next time we’ll actually get to see it on the main body of the pay per view. Although that would suggest that WWE had to care about the Championship and the wrestlers involved. As we know, they have much more so called important people to dedicate their time to. It’s just sad that those people are treading so hard on the shoulders of people like the Miz and Antonio Cesaro, that they’re beginning to bury them without sign of reanimation.


Royal Rumble 2013 may have been a predictable event in all but one of its matches, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that predictable means bad. For the most part it was an enjoyable night highlighted by the Rock’s WWE Championship victory over C.M Punk. Much can be learnt from the mistakes WWE did make at the Royal Rumble and should the company learn from them and move on, the bad parts of the annual event won’t have all been for nothing.

As unappealing as The Rock vs John Cena sounds again, there are a ton more roads WWE can take us down before the big event in April, that may mean the two avoid each other completely. We can always hope. January 27th may have looked like the Rock’s night and it was good to see him with the gold over his shoulder once again. In reality though it’s C.M Punk who overshadows all on the card for everything he’s done for the company, the headline scene and the WWE Championship in the last 434 days.

C.M Punk deserves all the praise and yours and my respect. Dropping the WWE Championship to a man he can’t stand in real life was certainly the moment Punk earned the well deserved recognition from us and from those who hadn’t given it to him before.

Here we go then, on the Road to Wrestlemania. If you smelllllllllll....

Onwards and upwards...